Xuan spent the next couple of hours practicing this weird technique he had come up with, and finally, he understood how it worked.
Although both types of Qi originated from the same Dantian and traveled through the same meridians, they never really came into contact until Xuan forcefully connected them earlier.
But now I understand what that old man did, Xuan thought with a sigh. Void Qi is like an affinity, and when I connect it to my natural Qi, it becomes a literal bonus.
So when the old man's Qi turned orange, that meant he infused his fire affinity into his natural Qi, which in turn sprouted flames.
Xuan punched the tree several times, causing massive craters to appear until eventually, the oak tree fell backward and loudly hit the ground.
Birds flew from the trees, and distant monsters screeched, but more importantly...
He chuckled.
The moment he sent his message, he heard rustling in the distant bush. Soon after, Yuelan stepped out, her hair disheveled.
"What's up?" Yuelan asked, glancing at the fallen tree. "You know I can destroy trees as well, right?"
Xuan shook his head and decided to simply show her.
He couldn't infuse too much Void Qi into his regular Qi because it wouldn't work. As for why that was the case, he was unsure.
Even so, after he infused his fists with Void Qi and regular Qi, Xuan proceeded to punch the air as hard as he could, and to Yuelan's surprise, a loud shockwave resounded as pale purple Qi suddenly flew out in an arc toward the forest, toppling hundreds of trees before finally hitting a boulder.
Yet even then, it managed to split the boulder in half before dissipating.
"See? Pretty cool, right?" Xuan remarked with a chuckle.
Yuelan's mouth was wide open as she ran up to him and lowered her head.
"Give me that... I want to slash forests too!"
"I would, but... hm?" Xuan's eyes widened.
It seemed like he had overlooked something major, and once he opened his status, he soon realized what.
—
—
Spiritual Qi? So that's what regular Qi is called, huh?
Xuan smiled in satisfaction, and without wasting a second, he patted Yuelan's head. Sure, he could tap the star in his status screen to transfer skills, but doing it this way was more comforting.
"Yay," Yuelan cheered playfully, and before he could react, Yuelan patted his head, giving him a few upgrades as well.
"I did a bit of training as well, and I finally broke a few of my skills into the Intermediate mastery," Yuelan said confidently, turning around on her heel.
She looked back subtly, flashing a smile. "I'm working on another skill. It's called Sword Qi. I feel like I'm there, but there's something troubling me..."
"You know you can always tell me," Xuan replied, patting her head a few times. "I'm sure I can help."
"Hmm... fine," Yuelan mumbled, meeting his gaze. "It's called Sword Intent. I need to figure out who I'm swinging the sword for."
Xuan tilted his head. "That seems like a pretty simple choice, no?"
"How is it simple? I can't pick anything without losing something," Yuelan said and narrowed her eyes. "I mean... if I pick something shallow, then I'm going to suffer in the future. But if I pick something obvious, then I'll be afraid of ever losing them."
Seeing where this was going, Xuan let out a sigh.
"Yuelan, don't make me the person you're swinging your sword for," Xuan said calmly, causing her brows to twitch. "I'm not weak, and neither are you. I might get hurt, and there's even a possibility I'll die one day."
He paused, taking a deep breath, then he continued. "So... as I was saying, I don't want to be a burden to you. Pick yourself. Who else can you trust more than yourself when it comes to power?"
"But if I swing the sword for you, I'll be able to protect us forever," Yuelan said, her eyes turning hazy. "And if I pick myself... I feel like I'll grow stronger all alone."
Xuan patted her head once more, then pulled her in for a tight hug.
"Yuelan, you're not alone, and you never will be," Xuan eased her worries. "By choosing to swing the sword for yourself, you can be free from all the stupid restrictions. Your Sword Intent will be truly yours, and it'll follow your path no matter what."
With those words, he tightened the hug slightly. However, it seemed like Yuelan wasn't reacting at all.
He pulled her back slightly, and the moment he did, he realized her eyes had completely lost focus.
But because of their deep connection, Xuan was able to feel the Spiritual Qi stirring in her Dantian, flowing through her meridians in a special manner until eventually, the Qi had reached her brain.
It swirled around and made her eyes light up slightly. All the while, the surrounding forest began to fall apart, small cuts appearing all along the trees, and coincidentally, Xuan's body had cuts all over.
But he didn't let go of Yuelan and waited it out, the cuts barely harming him after he surrounded his body in Void Qi.
All of a sudden, the sky turned dark as one giant full moon appeared, hovering right above their heads.
Xuan glanced up in amazement, and that was when Yuelan slipped out of his grasp and jumped into the sky.
He expected her to fall back down, but instead, the bright moonlight levitated her up and suspended her in the sky.
Is this some sort of transformation? Xuan thought. I feel old not knowing anything about this game stuff... I really need Yuelan to teach me later.
And the moment he had that thought, he instinctively took a step back, dodging an invisible attack which created a giant sword gash in the ground.
Less than a second later, more invisible attacks appeared, but those ones, Xuan didn't need to dodge. They were all soundlessly carving out a circular pattern with Yuelan in the very center.
Yet the carving process soon halted as the moonlight filled the cracks, and almost as if there were mirrors in the cracks, the moonlight was reflected upward, shining upon Yuelan, whose hair had begun to glow brightly.
Yuelan took a deep breath and extended her arm, causing another bout of carving to ensue in the very center of the circle. After a few brief moments, the shape of a sword was carved out.
The moonlight expanded into the sword carving, and like before, traveled upward toward Yuelan.
Not even a moment later, a beautiful white sword appeared in her hand, looking as though the entire moon had been fused inside it.
And just like that, the giant moon began to fade away, causing Yuelan to slowly fall down.
But right as she was about to splatter on the ground, Xuan Void Stepped over to her and caught her before Void Stepping several times back to the cave where he had woken up.
He set her down in the same makeshift bed he lay on earlier and noticed something adorable.
Even if she was unconscious, she still held onto the beautiful white sword, keeping it close to her chest, almost as if she were snuggling.
A proud feeling enveloped Xuan as he brushed her hair a few times and stood up, a wide smile on his face.
"Good job, Yuelan."